Yes, it has now been 14 months post diagnosis and Addie is still going strong!A lot has occurred since the last post. We still mourn Shep daily. There are so many things that remind us of him and he was always happy and ready to go anywhere. I miss his bounce, his bright eyes, his goofy ears, and everything else about him. Addie had a hard time with his loss. Rob and I debated about adding another canine member to our family. Not as a replacement for Shep, but we realized we are a 2 dog family. Rob also felt it would help Addie to have another dog around. I thought 100% opposite. I felt she would not adjust well to another dog. Especially a puppy. In the end, we decided to add a puppy to our household. We adopted Finigan from the local humane society. He was a 5 month old lab/chow mix.
At first, Addie was not at all happy to have a new puppy in the house. We had introduced them at the shelter and knew that he would not be too spastic and would probably not be jumping all over her to continuously annoy her. But she still was not happy. Which was my biggest fear. But after a couple weeks, she has now come to tolerate, and dare I say, even like little Finigan. They now play together. Addie is now much happier and adjusted to her new family. She plays much more than she did and seems to be doing better health wise. Her paws seem warmer and has not shown any signs of a bleed. I am glad I was wrong and that she does seem to be doing better.
As for Mr. Finigan, it seems he had some previous abuse in his life, and we are working through that with him. I don't know how anyone could abuse a dog, let alone a puppy, but it seems this is the case. He is making great progress and we are glad we found him and are able to offer him a safe home with plenty of love.
Our thoughts are with all the other families out there battling cancer in their dogs and we hope the best for everyone. Every day with Addie is a gift that we are thankful for.
